[wisb] South Florida trip report-- long
- From: tom prestby <jjprestby@xxxxxxx>
- To: Wisbird <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:59:52 -0500
Quentin Yoerger, Peter and Cynthia Bridge, and I enjoyed a great five days of
birding in the Sunshine State (it lived true to its name) last week. Below is a
watered down day by day trip report.
Thursday, April 21. After flying into Miami and struggling to get off the
grounds of the airport (a maze of misleading roads, signs, and detours is a
completely different story) we birded the suburbs for countable exotics. We
started at the Royal Palm Tennis Courts in Kendall and it was hot and quiet
although 3 Hill Mynas (not countable yet) provided very nice views. After
driving around a couple hours near the Baptist Hospital we finally found a
Red-whiskered Bulbul and pair of Spot-breasted Orioles just SE of Hwy 1. Monk
Parakeets were seen but we could not find any White-winged. We did however see
a few large groups of Mitred Parakeets which aren't countable yet but makes you
wonder. We ended the day at Shark Valley and were all happy to leave the urban
exotics for the Everglades. Limpkins were surprisingly visible along Hwy 41
between the Indian restaurant and the abandoned airboat concession. Two Snail
Kites were seen very distantly to the north of the highway. A great surprise to
end our day was a Barn Owl hunting in the lights of the Walmart Parking lot in
Florida City at 10:30pm-- a lifer for multiple members of the group.
Friday, April 22. Earth day was appropriately spent enjoying the Everglades and
Corkscrew Audubon Sanctuary. Large groups of Cattle Egrets and Black-bellied
Plovers in the fields just before the entrance welcomed us to the park. After
spending a couple hours with photography on the Anhinga Trail and the Heron and
Stork rookery at Paurotis Pond, we were able to track down a Cape Sable Seaside
Sparrow along the main road 1.1 miles past the turn for Mahogany Hammock-- a
traditional spot for them. Continuing to Flamingo, the highlights were a couple
Shiny Cowbirds with a large mixed blackbird flock some shorebirds on the tidal
flats, and our first good looks at Swallow-tailed Kites-- a fan favorite,
especially of yours truly. On our way back north we stopped at the abandoned
airboat concession at Shark Valley again and had much better looks at Limpkin
and Snail Kite (one of the latter flew low directly over our heads). On the way
to Corkscrew we had good looks at a Caracara along the highway and a couple
more Swallow-tailed Kites. Corkscrew itself was enjoyable with more Limpkins, a
Barred Owl, some singing Parulas and a couple more Swallow-tailed Kites. An
extremely close calling Chuck-Wills-Widow at dusk was a treat. One side note--
Corkscrew is very strict about their 7:30pm closing time. We were
unceremoniously herded out before the time even came.
Saturday, April 23. We started at Babcock-Webb WMA where we easily found our
target Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. We failed to find Bachman's Sparrow but did
see a couple pairs of Brown-headed Nuthatches. Other open southern pine forest
birds such as bluebirds, bobwhite, ground doves, and Eastern Meadowlarks were
common. We spent most of the afternoon at Ding Darling NWR to satisfy our
shorebird appetite. Numbers weren't as great as we had hoped for because the
tides weren't right but good numbers of Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers,
Black-bellied Plovers, and Semipalmated Sandpipers were present with small
numbers of a couple other species. We headed south and made it to Marathon Key
by dusk but no Antillean Nighthawks were seen or heard.
Sunday, April 24. Spent the day at the Dry Tortugas-- an absolute must for all
birders. On the 70 mile ferry ride to the small islands we saw a few Gannets,
Royal Terns, and Frigatebirds. As we got a little closer, we came across a few
pairs of Bridled Terns, a group of Roseate Terns, and some Brown Boobys
roosting on channel markers. The Masked Booby nesting colony could be seen well
with binocs. On the island itself, the overwhelming numbers of Sooty Terns,
Brown Noddys, and Frigatebirds was the main highlight. Migrants included
Worm-eating, Yellow-throated, Cape May Warblers, Gray Kingbirds,
Black-whiskered Vireos, and a Sora in a tree. We had great tantalizing views of
a roosting nighthawk sitting and flying but since it never called we couldn't
determine if it was the Antillean that we were all hoping for. Back at the dock
in Key West we spotted our first White-crowned Pigeon of the trip. We tried the
Key West Community College for Antillean Nighthawks at dusk but were skunked
once again.
Monday, April 25. This day was spent working the Keys back towards the
mainland. Fort Zachary Taylor park in Key West had a good number of migrants,
especially Cape Mays, Palms, Blackpolls, and Black-throated Blues. We had nice
views of a Great "White" Heron and the nesting colony of Least Terns on the
nearby government buildings. On our way out of Key West we had great views of a
White-crowned Pigeon sitting on a dead branch in the morning sunlight. It was
about 10am by the time we got to Sugarloaf Key and it was already rather hot so
our hopes weren't high. However, we were treated to great views of a pair of
Mangrove Cuckoos which sat close to the road as they called back and forth to
each other. Besides the general experience of the Dry Tortugas, this was the
consensus trip highlight for the group. Black-whiskered Vireos and Gray
Kingbirds were common in this habitat. At the Blue Hole in Key Deer NWR we ran
into another pocket of migrant warblers (including our only Ovenbird of the
trip and an impressive number of Cape Mays) and had close looks at several Key
Deer. A quick stop at the Sombrero Country Club on Marathon Key yielded our
only Burrowing Owl of the trip and more Gray Kingbirds. After seeing some more
shorebirds and waterbirds in the freshwater pools on Grassy Key, we birded
Windley Key State Park. A mile walk of the trail was quiet except for several
White-crowned Pigeons and Black-whiskered Vireos. The best spot however was
right by the Visitor Center where warblers were coming in to some standing
water. We had nice looks at nine species of warblers here but the clear
highlight was a female Painted Bunting whose green color was very impressive
when hit by the sun. Our trip finished with a close look at the mangrove race
of Yellow Warbler near the Card Sound Road toll booth and watching Cave
Swallows fly back into roost at dusk in Florida City.
Although no mega rarities were around, it was a very enjoyable time with great
birds, great friends, and great weather.
Tom Prestby
Lake Tomahawk, Oneida County
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